1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a horizontal coke-oven battery of the type having coking chambers arranged in a row between an oven roof and a regenerator roof, and regenerative chambers beneath the coking chambers between the regenerator roof and a regenerator floor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a conventional coke-oven battery of this type, the oven roof, the regenerator roof, the regenerator floor and various dividing walls between the coking chambers and the regenerative chambers form a refractory brick structure which is supported by a steel construction. This steel construction comprises vertical uprights and horizontal braces, which are intended to keep the brickwork under pressure so as to prevent the formation of cracks due to thermal stresses. Such cracks are undesirable for several reasons. One reason is that cracks in the brickwork give rise to leaks. When inflammable gases leak outwards and ignite, the steelwork may become too hot and deform, so that it ceases to give the brickwork adequate support. This gives rise to increased crack formation, and so on.
Efforts have been made, by installing support plates between the uprights in the furnace roof and the regenerator roof and fitting armour plates between the uprights and the brickwork, to distribute the supporting action of the steelwork over the largest possible area of the brickwork as evenly as possible. Nevertheless it would appear to be practically impossible to prevent leakage of inflammable gases through the brickwork to the outside under all circumstances. This leakage produces the adverse effects on the brickwork described above.
As the combustion chambers of the coke-oven battery operate under a vacuum as a result of chimney draught, cracks in the brickwork, may also interfere with the draught and may result in leakage paths for air and/or gas within the oven construction. This may not only lead to undesirable combustion phenomena within the oven but may also reduce the chimney draught, extend the coking time and cause the fuel gas to pre-ignite.